It’s coming up on my birthday, and over these past few years I have been feeling my age a lot more. When I get zoomed in on an issue, there is usually a vision board not far behind:
Why, when there are so many examples of women achieving, styling, and laughing their way through middle age and beyond, do I let fine lines and joint pain tell me I am past my prime?
Traveling allows me the experience of seeing how the ages (all ages, not just “the old”) are treated quite differently around the world. However, traveling also propels me deeper into this extended adolescence, where my age-peers are by now well settled with kids, cars and careers. This tension – the perceived one between what I am doing and what I “should” be doing – is something I am trying to set down.
Maybe you can identify? If so, I recommend heading over to This Chair Rocks, the blog of my friend Ashton Applewhite. It is a one-stop-shop of all you need to combat ageism in your own mind and beyond. She has a book that is on the verge of being available, so watch that space!
We have been grappling recently with provisioning and how we can develop a pantry without disposable plastic. At sea, if you have a plastic waste hoard that needs tossing, you are faced with using your own two hands to pitch it right into the sea. Even though much of our land-based waste gets to the sea one way or another, there is something about this liveaboard scenario that evokes real personal responsibility.